Bugs Below Zero
Discovering Winter Aquatic Insects in Minnesota
Photo credit: THIA XIONG/usfws
Please join the Bugs Below Zero research team at the Minnesota Valley Wildlife Refuge, Candlelight Trail & Community Night to meet Minnesota’s winter aquatic insects and learn about their important role in winter stream food webs. Connect with insect and fish researchers associated with the Bugs Below Zero project and discuss how you might participate in citizen science activities. There will be an interactive insect demonstration for adults, kids, students, and families that connects weather, streams, aquatic insects, and fish.
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The event is on Saturday, Feb 18th, 2025, from 5-8pm, (Bloomington Education and Visitor Center, 3815 American Blvd E, Bloomington, MN 55425).
The Minnesota Valley Wildlife Refuge, Candlelight Trail & Community Night event is free and open to all ages. This is an opportunity to walk on a candle lit luminary trail and get cozy in the visitor center with snacks, cocoa, storytelling, science activities, crafts, and a documentary screening. For more information, visit: https://www.fws.gov/event/candlelight-trail-community-night
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Why Attend A Bugs Below Zero event?
Did you know that some insects (including stoneflies, mayflies, caddisflies and non-biting midges) are active in the dead of winter? These bugs are able to survive below-zero temperatures and can often be found on snowbanks! They are also a vitally important food for trout. Researchers are examining how seasonal changes may alter these insects’ life-cycles and trout populations.
At a Bugs Below Zero event, you can:
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Meet Minnesota’s winter aquatic insects and learn about their unique life-cycles and adaptations,
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Connect with researchers associated with the Bugs Below Zero project who are trying to understand how temperature change might impact stream food webs.
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Learn how you can participate in the Bugs Below Zero project and help researchers by monitoring insects on stream banks this winter.
